This invention relates to the issue of ensuring that products which are sold as having originated at a particular source have in fact originated at the respective source. Manufacturers who own rights in product names are concerned that their products may be copied by unauthorized business entities, and sold as genuine, when in fact such name owners are not the actual source of a particular unit of goods, even though the goods bear their name.
The purpose of use and registration of exclusive ownership of a trade name is to build good will in the respective trade name by providing high quality goods and/or services in association with the trade name to such extent that consumers are able to make discerning purchasing decisions based on the name associated with the good at the time the purchase decision is made. Typically, name owners associate the registered name of the good with the product produced. Thus, the name is placed on e.g. the good, the package which contains the good, and/or on literature enclosed in a package containing the good.
Consumers are concerned, when they purchase a product bearing a particular trade name, that the goods being purchased have in fact originated from the owner of the particular name. Meantime, it is well known that unauthorized manufacturers are in fact producing and selling goods under registered trade names to which such producers do not have appropriate rights. Thus, the authenticity of some products and product types has become uncertain because of misuse of trade names on various types of products.
To the extent products are mis-labeled with trade name representations, deceiving the purchaser as to the actual source of the goods, or to the extent authenticity of the goods is uncertain, both manufacturers and consumers lose benefit of trade name use. Where the good is mis-labeled, the purchaser may purchase a good of lesser quality than expected. If the good is unsatisfactory, the purchaser may turn to the name owner for satisfaction while the name owner is not the actual source of the good. Even if the good is authentic, if the consumer is uncertain of the authenticity, neither the consumer nor the trade name owner reap full benefit of the use of the trade name. Accordingly, both the consumer and the trade name owner can be damaged by such misuse of the name.
When activity of unauthorized manufacture is discovered, the name owner has recourse under the law and can thus bring legal action accordingly. However, in some areas of technology, such unauthorized activity is prevalent among various unauthorized entities to the extent that conventional legal action by the manufacturer may, without more, be ineffective to control such unauthorized activity, whereby name owners need additional means to affirm to consumers the authenticity of their goods.
The issue of trade name misuse is especially prominent with respect to primary data storage devices such as CD ROM's and DVD's, as well as other data storage device products, used primarily for the purpose of storing and retrieving electronic data.
As used herein, the phrase “primary data storage device” refers to those devices wherein the functions of data recording, storage, and retrieval represent a substantial value of the device. Thus, the phrase “primary data storage device” can also refer to articles having other primary functions and wherein data storage is an adjunct of that function. Accordingly, the above phrase can refer to e.g. credit cards or debit cards having a data storage element, to identification cards having a data storage element, or to similar products which have primary functions beyond that of data recording, storage, and retrieval.
Addressing specifically data storage devices for storing electronic data, and wherein the data storage devices are of a generally planar configuration, for purposes of product source authentication, it is known to provide, as authentication indicia, an identifying coating or layer over the entirety of a major surface of the data storage device wherein the structure of the coating or layer, or indicia on the coating or layer, are costly, or technically difficult, to manufacture. Such authentication efforts rely on cost or technical difficulty to deter name misuse.
Also for product source authentication, it is known to provide various identification indicia on the packaging which contains the good. Such authentication efforts rely on restraint or lead time, regarding name misuse by potential manufacturers and distributors.
Further to product source authentication, it is known to provide seals on the packaging wherein the seals bear certain types of indicia which are costly or technically difficult to reproduce. Such authentication efforts rely on cost or technical difficulty to deter name misuse.
It is further known to use a combination of the above methods of enabling consumers to confirm authenticity of goods being offered for sale.
In spite of the above efforts at stopping distribution of unauthorized copies of goods, those who misuse names are becoming progressively more technically capable and better financed, whereby the problem persists. Accordingly, there is a need to provide, to manufacturers and distributors, additional options for enabling consumers to confirm or authenticate the sources of goods being purchased. Particularly, there is a need to provide additional such options for authenticating the sources of data storage devices which are sold with data resident thereon, and wherein the value of the goods is highly dependent on the data so stored thereon at the time of purchase.
More specifically, there is a need to provide additional such options for authenticating the sources of data storage devices which contain computer software, audio data, and video data, and combinations of the above general types of electronic data.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide novel structure and methods for authenticating primary data storage devices which are used to store and retrieve data in electronic format.
It is a more specific object to provide novel coatings on data storage devices, which coatings are activated for authentication purposes by causing the novel coatings to interact with one or more elements of the packaging with which the data storage device is purchased.
Yet another object is to provide a first coating comprising microcapsules containing chromogenic materials on either the data storage device or packaging therefore, and to provide a second developer coating on the other of the data storage device and packaging therefore.
Still another object is to provide a self-contained chromogenic coating including both color source composition and color developer, on a data storage device, or a primary data storage device, and to further provide packaging interaction with such self-contained coating so as to authenticate the data storage device.